The winners of the RTS Cymru Awards have now been announced. At a ceremony at the University of South Wales on February 6th, the winners of the Student awards and the two new industry awards (Newcomer and Industry Breakthrough Awards) were revealed by hosts Matt Lissack and Polly James.  

Student Awards

Now in their 24th year, the Student Awards recognise the best audio-visual work created by students attending higher education institutions and, for the first time, further education courses in Wales. Under-graduate entries were received this year Aberystwyth University, Cardiff and Vale College, University of South Wales and University of Wales Trinity Saint David in the categories of Animation; Comedy & Entertainment; Drama; Factual and Short Form.

Animation

Winner: Dogs in the Apocalypse (University of South Wales) 
Nominees: Reach Out, (University of South Wales), Birden (University of South Wales)

Entertainment & Comedy

Winner: Keith Barry John (University of South Wales) 
Nominee: Superglued Up (University of South Wales) 

Drama

Winner: Faruq (University of South Wales)
Nominees: A Table For (University of South Wales), Maggie’s Farm (University of South Wales)

Factual

Winner: Mathew vs Pritchard (University of South Wales)
Nominees: On Air (Aberystwyth University), The Stand (Cardiff and Vale College)

Short Form

There were no shortlisted nominations in this category.

Craft Skills Awards

At their discretion, the Jury this year decided to make 4 awards in the craft categories:

Camerawork: A Table For: Kerby NG

Editing: Mathew vs Pritchard: Vratislav Karas

Production Design: A Table For: Kerby NG

Sound: Maggie’s Farm: Connor Law Twigg

RTS Cymru Industry Awards

As an educational charity, one of the core purposes of the RTS is to support young people in pursuing a career in television and these two new categories have been created to recognise the hard work, commitment and passion of those who are just embarking on their career.  Nominees can be working in any behind-the camera role, including development, research, production management and any craft role.  The judges were looking for evidence of exceptional creativity, innovation, team working, professionalism and general star quality. 

Newcomer Award

This category is for new Welsh entrants to the television industry who have already demonstrated great promise and the skills and initiative to take them further. The entrants were nominated by their employers. 

Winner: Ellis Clark (ITV Cymru Wales) 
Nominee: Sam Rhys (Boom Cymru) 

The jury noted that Ellis had clearly mastered impressive skills in a very short time which they recognised as a rare and sought-after skill set. They also noted the supporting comments from his senior colleagues which demonstrated the obvious respect they have for his work. 

Industry Breakthrough Award

This award is for those individuals who have progressed a little further than newcomers to the industry and have a minimum of two years’ experience of working in the TV industry, achieving at least one on-screen credit. Entrants were nominated by their employers. 

Winner: Sian Thomas (ITV Cymru Wales)
Nominees: Andrew Sheehy  (Boomerang Productions)  Cai Morgan (Boom Cymru) 

The Jury considered that Sian's journalism shows tenacity, sensitivity and intelligence. The Jury believed she ably demonstrated an impressive range of skills and an ability for multi-skilling which is very suited to the modern media world.